TVWRITER™ NEWSLETTER – Summer 2017

TVWRITER™ NEWSLETTER – Summer 2017

A WORD FROM LB

As this is being written, it’s the first day of summer. All around the country, heat-related events are the order of the day.

Except here at TVWriter™ Central, at the northern tip of Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula. Where we are, the temp today is 55 degrees fahrenheit, and the time of year is known as “Juneuary” because this month inevitably is cooler than May and we won’t be getting much warmer till July.

The good news for Larry and Gwen is that at least it’s not raining. The better news for TVWriter™ is that we’re in the middle of a server upgrade that should make good ole https://tvwriter.com and its trusty referrer site https://tvwriter.com load twice as quickly as in the past and, probably more importantly, be more efficient and stable.

Oh, and we’ve added what’s called an “SSL Certificate” that means we’re all safe and secure from – well, I’m not sure what we’re protected against, but the people whose pockets now are semi-filled with our folding money say TVWriter™ visitors can breathe even easier than before about clicking and scrolling here at the World’s Foremost TV Writing Website.

On the actual Learning-All-You-Can-About-TV-Writing-Front, we’ve also made some changes to make hanging here more worthwhile. Here’s what’s going on:

PEOPLE’S PILOT 2017

The 26th edition of our PEOPLE’S PILOT Competition opened for entries June 1st and will be open until the very last minute of November 1, 2017.

This year we’ve continued our tradition of updating the PP to match recent changes in the entertainment scene and make the contest not just a “television writing” thing, but one for shows intended for any and all electronic entertainment media.

Whether the series you are creating is intended for broadcast TV, cable and satellite, TV, home entertainment/video game consoles, Big Media interweb outlets like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, or indie web channels and venues like YouTube, Vimeo, Funny or Die, or the show’s own website, it’s eligible for the new PEOPLE’S PILOT.

Similarly, we’re open for entries regardless of what length you envision the episodes being or how many episodes you foresee it having.

Genres also are entirely open. Whether you’ve written a drama, comedy, action, dramedy, anthology script for adults, for young adults, for children, or, what the hell, for opossums, the PEOPLE’S PILOT wants to see it. Is your pilot intended for live action? Great. And just as great if you see what you’ve written as being animated, or starring puppets, or little balls of clay, whateves. Are you hoping for your series to last forever? Envisioning it as a mini or limited series? It’s all good to us. We welcome everything you can think of.

Category-wise, we now have two primary categories:

1) Scripted Comedy Series of any length
2) Scripted Action/Drama Series of any length

Plus, and this is new:

Special Bonus Category
3) Special International Production Award to be given to the entry or entries that the judges find especially suitable for the global TV market and production by our new Chinese co-sponsor Global Saga Media Entertainment. AKA a paid option that any suitable entry, regardless of its placing in the two primary categories, can win.

Prize money has improved as well. As in previous running, TVWriter™ and our longtime Hong Kong based co-sponsor Manner Movie Ltd. are offering over $20,000 in prizes and entry bonuses, with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in the primary categories taking home $700 US, $200 US, and $100 US respectively, plus free feedback on all entries, a free Storytelling Patterns e-book, and all the usual goodies from TVWriter™, yours truly LB, Script Pipeline, ScreenwriterShowcase, and InkTip.Com.

The PEOPLE’S PILOT website, with more general info (including our entry fees and discounts) is HERE

Winners, Finalists, and Semi-Finalists of TVWriter™’s past contests are or have most recently been on the staffs of WESTWORLD, LETHAL WEAPON, NARCOS, MOM, SNEAKY PETE, TIME AFTER TIME, THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, PRIVATE PRACTICE, CHICAGO PD, CHICAGO FIRE, PERSON OF INTEREST, THE WALKING DEAD, RIZZOLI AND ISLES, COLONY, GREY’S ANATOMY, ONCE UPON A TIME, SMALLVILLE, ROME, THE LEFTOVERS, MELROSE PLACE, THE BASTARD EXECUTIONER, and the upcoming SNOWFALL, to name just a few. We’d love to see you join them!

TVWRITER UNIVERSITY SUMMER SCHEDULE

The next TVWriter™ Online TV and Film Writing Workshop starts July 12th, with the last weekly class wrapping things up August 2nd.

Larry Brody’s next Master Class starts July 6th, with the last weekly meeting skedded (as the old-time H’wood trade magazines used to say) for July 27th. Only one opening left!

LB’s upcoming Hong Kong/Macao TV and Film Writing Seminar is zeroing in on its debut date. Featuring a delightful live, in-person Weekend Writing Room Experience, look for it this winter as your go-to Christmas Writing Retreat.